An electrolytic capacitor is composed by using an anode electrode of the so-called valve metal such as aluminium or tantalum, said metal being caused to form an insulating oxide layer on its surface, said insulating oxide layer acting as a dielectric layer, contacting said insulating oxide layer with an electrolyte layer and arranging a current collector electrode generally referred to as cathode.
The electrolyte for the electrolytic capacitor, as above mentioned, contacts directly with the dielectric layer and acts as a true cathode, that is, the electrolyte lies between the dielectric layer of the electrolytic capacitor and the current collector electrode and hence its resistance is inserted in series for the electrolytic capacitor. Therefore, the characteristic of the electrolyte results in an important factor controlling the characteristic of the electrolytic capacitor. For example, if a conductivity of an electrolyte is lower, an equivalent series resistance within an electrolytic capacitor is increased and hence a high-frequency characteristic and a loss characteristic may be lowered.
That is the reason of the demand for high conductivity electrolyte and as such a high conductivity electrolyte, a solution of an organic acid or its salt, such as adipic acid in glycols, such as ethylene glycol or alcohols has been used.
The latest expansion of demands of electrolytic capacitors having higher electric characteristics has not been satisfied with the conductivity of the presently available electrolyte. Especially in the case of the presently available electrolyte, when a desired conductivity is not obtained or a low solubility solute is used, the conductivity has been improved by intentionally adding water.
However, in the latest utilizing condition of the electrolytic capacitor required for use at above 100.degree. C. and for many hours, the presence of water causes a dielectric layer to be worsened, an internal vapor pressure of the electrolytic capacitor to be increased and hence the life of the electrolytic capacitor is worsened because of a breakage of a seal part or a volatilization of an electrolyte. Therefore, the presently available electrolytic capacitor has had as a drawback the inability to hold a stable characteristic over a long term. To solve the matter, it is known that an ammonium or a primary, secondary or tertiary amine salt of an organic acid is used as a solute in an aprotic solvent as disclosed in the Japanese patent publication Nos. 55-3989, 57-56763, 58-32769 and the U.S. Pat. No. 4,117,531.
It has been discovered that an alkyl quaternary ammonium salt of enol-form of 1,3-cyclodiketone has a considerable solubility to an aprotic solvent and the solution has an extremely high conductivity, even though an ammonium or a primary, secondary or tertiary amine salt of 1,3-cyclodiketone is practically insoluble in an aprotic solvent and hence such a solution has substantially no conductivity.